We caught up with the brilliant and insightful John Jiang a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, John thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

I came from a small city called Akesu located in the Xinjiang Providence, China. My family is really lucky and privileged, so that I can just purely pursuit art. However because it is a really tight ran family business, everyone is expected to help and become part of the family business eventually. I remember the day I told my father that I want to study acting and theater in college. He didn’t take that well at all. I remember crying to some mentor and friends about it. What happened the day after was unexpected yet, somehow I knew what my dad was going to do. He FaceTimed me and told me that at the end of the day as a father all he wants for me is to be who I truly want to be. He said that he didn’t quite understand why storytelling is my passion but he will give me his full support. And years later, after he saw many tapings and live performances of mine, he is now telling me that he wants to invest in the first film I write and star in.

John, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

At the young and naive age of 15, I wanted to study law because I believed advocacy was needed in the world, and I wanted to contribute to that cause. As I grew, I found that even if systemic issues are addressed, the root cause must also be eradicated; otherwise, the problem is never truly solved. Moving to the United States especially made this clear, as I experienced my fair share of racism, which painfully reinforced this truth.
Leaving my hometown, I encountered more and more labels imposed on me because of how I looked or where I came from. I was often the “fresh off the boat” student Americans didn’t want to sit with at lunch. Meanwhile, the Chinese community here didn’t welcome me either because of my Xinjiang heritage.
The first time I felt truly accepted was within the theater community. There was no judgment, and I immediately fell in love with the beauty of having a space to just play and express myself freely. Although this was an amazing and life-changing experience, I also recognized how few people in the theater community looked like me, and how little material reflected my experiences. And that’s why I have decided to use storytelling as my way of making a difference in this world.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me meeting people who share the same passion and goal with me is what’s the most exciting thing. By putting myself out in the industry and society, I get to meet all kinds of different people; Slowly I was able to build a small community. To me having this community of support and knowing I can really count on these people not only in work but also in life. I believe the best artists are the most generous ones and that’s who I want to be. That’s who I choose to be around.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Growing up the concept of competing is engrained in my bones, so when I started my acting career I fell right back into the same mindset. It’s really hard to keep it out of my head about what other people might think of me or if I’m a good actor. What really changed this pattern for me was the people I was with at AADA. I was privileged to have observed what people can accomplish when they just “play and have fun”. It occurred to me that there’s no competition at all because at the end of the day we all want the same thing— to tell a good story. And I now truly believe that there’s a place for every story and storyteller and it is our mission to find where we can shine the best together.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Johnjiang98

Image Credits

Maggie Hool
Hanjie Chow
Danny Bristoll